Embedding in global value chains: the impact of trade networks on the quality upgrading of processed agricultural products

Introduction The quality advancement of processed agricultural products is essential for consolidating industrial resilience and fostering the high-quality development of global agricultural trade. Amid the deep restructuring of the global economic system, trade interactions among nations have reshaped network topological structures, thereby influencing endogenous comparative advantages and functional specialization trajectories within the Agricultural Global Value Chain (AGVC). Against this backdrop, it is necessary to examine how trade network characteristics affect quality upgrading. Methods Using balanced panel data of major economies from 2007 to 2023, this study employs social network analysis to quantify trade network characteristics, including centrality, connection strength, and heterogeneity. Econometric analysis is conducted to empirically test the impact of these network features on the quality upgrading of processed agricultural products, with AGVC functional specialization incorporated as a mediating mechanism. Results The findings are threefold. First, trade networks exhibit a significant “quality empowerment” effect. Improvements in centrality, connection strength, and heterogeneity all drive the quality upgrading of agricultural products. Among these dimensions, connection strength exerts the most prominent promotional effect, indicating that deepened bilateral economic exchanges remain the cornerstone of quality advancement. Second, AGVC functional specialization constitutes a key mediating path through which trade networks influence quality. Trade networks facilitate a nation's ascent toward upstream functional specialization to achieve quality breakthroughs. Conversely, for nations localized in downstream processing segments, the quality benefits of network embedding are significantly constrained, confirming that the structural transition of “de-downstreaming” constitutes the core logic of quality upgrading. Third, trade connection strength involves risks of dual heterogeneity and governance capture. Close trade ties exert a positive pulling effect on nations embedded in non-buyer-driven networks. However, under buyer-driven governance models, excessively high connection strength risks locking economies into low-end segments, thereby weakening the quality dividends of network participation. Discussion Overall, the results suggest that the quality upgrading of processed agricultural products is closely linked to trade network embeddedness and AGVC positioning. Network structure not only enhances upgrading potential but may also generate structural constraints under specific governance contexts. These findings provide a structural perspective for understanding quality advancement in global agricultural trade.