Objective/Meaning The paper explores the impacts of trade facilitation on the technical sophistication of agricultural exports in RCEP countries and the pertinent mechanism to enhance the competitiveness of agricultural exports.

Methods/Procedures By using the agricultural trade data of RCEP countries from 2009 to 2021, the paper calculates trade facilitation index of RCEP countries and the technical sophistication of agricultural exports, constructs a Static Panel Fixed Effect Model, analyzes the impacts of trade facilitation on the technical sophistication of agricultural exports, and explores the mechanism.

Results/Conclusions The level of trade facilitation and the technical sophistication of agricultural exports in RCEP countries generally show a fluctuating upward trend. Trade facilitation has a significant positive impact on the technical sophistication of agricultural exports, and influences the technical sophistication of agricultural exports by reducing trade costs and improving the R&D and innovation. It is important to optimize export structure of agricultural exports, attach importance to the construction of e-commerce and regulatory environment, actively participate the global value chain of agricultural products, and to enhance R&D and innovation.