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 EUR39.69 million, which was arrived at by adding35% to the original fine amount 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.

Thursday's ruling follows a legal opinion issued by Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi, who said in November that the commission hadn't proved that ADM was the leader of the cartel.

ADM challenged the commission finding before Europe's lower court, the Court of First Instance. The CFI dismissed ADM's action for the most part and left the fine unchanged.

ADM has been fined by the commission several times over the last decade for participating in cartels, including a a fine of EUR47.3 million in 2003 for being part of an amino acid cartel.

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