U.S. agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midlands Co.'s (ADM) EUR39.69 million fine imposed by the European Commission for price-fixing was reduced to EUR29.4 million Thursday.

The European Court of Justice, Europe's top court, ruled that ADM should not have been classified as a leader in the cartel on the citric acid market.

ADM was part of a group of companies found in 2001 to have formed a price-fixing and market-sharing cartel in citric acid. The commission, Europe's regulator and executive, fined these companies a total of EUR135.22 million. ADM faced an individual fine of EUR36.69 million, raised by 35% for being a leader of the cartel.

Citric acid is a widespread preservative used mainly in food such as jams, jellies and tinned fruit. It is also used in household detergent products as a substitute for environmentally harmful phosphates.

-By Mike Gordon, Dow Jones Newswires; +352 691 180 766; mgordon.dowjones@gmail.com