Orange juice prices have charged within a whisker of last week's panic-induced record high on speculation the United States may ban Brazilian juice imports which had used an illegal fungicide, traders said.

Investors stoked a rally in frozen concentrated orange juice futures on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange on a worst-case scenario in which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would order a ban against Brazilian juice products which used the fungicide carbendazim.

"We're in uncharted waters with what the FDA is going to do," said James Cordier, a senior analyst with brokerage Optionsellers.com in Florida.

The market hit a record at $2.1275 on Jan. 12 when the fungicide news first broke on the market, but subsequently sold off to settle on Friday the 13th at $1.846.

Since then, the market has climbed nearly 15 percent in value, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.

"This is still absolutely a fungicide market," said a long-time bank dealer who closely follows the juice market.

Brazil is the world's largest juice producer and exporter, accounting for 10 percent of U.S. supplies. The FDA is supposed to release its tests of Brazilian juice shortly.

Lawyers for Brazil's juice industry, which exports over $2 billion worth of juice a year, are trying to negotiate with U.S. officials, but there are few low-priced alternative fungicides for its growers to use.

Traders said if the FDA allows and declares the Brazilian juice safe, the premium built into the market could collapse just as fast as it had risen.

But Cordier said prices will stay high while the FDA runs its tests.

"You're not going to get the all-clear for months. That's why we have such a nervous market," he explained. (Reuters)