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Abstract
Dutch type auctions are becoming a major tool in fruit and vegetable market organization in Europe. Invented in the Netherlands at the end of the 19th century they expanded in that country, then in Belgium and more recently in France. They handle a growing share of the crops with ample variations between regions and types of products. While diversity in marketing channels remains justified in France to take care of local and regional differences, auctions appear, following the Benelux example, as a major tool for market operation improvement and orderly production.