In the context of the new development pattern，it is of great practical significance to improve the institutional quality for China’s agriculture to deeply participate in the global agricultural division of labor and cooperation and enhance the international competitiveness of agricultural products.This paper examines the heterogeneity of the impact of institutional quality on the exports of different value-added citrus products and the moderation effect of institutional quality on the export structure of citrus products，using structural gravity model and Heckman sample selection model.The results show that the overall institutional quality has a positive effect on the export of medium and high value-added citrus products，whereas it has a suppressive effect on the export of low value-added citrus products.There are significant differences in the effects of corruption control，government efficiency and the rule of law on the export of citrus products.The institutional similarity has a facilitating effect on the exports of all citrus products.In addition，the institutional quality has a greater effect on the promotion of the export into economies with low institutional quality，showing a trend of diminishing marginal effects，and has an moderation effect on export structure，which promotes the upgrading of citrus exports from the “low-end” to the“high-end”.It is thus concluded that under the new development pattern，the reduction of institutional transaction costs is of great theoretical and practical significance for enhancing the position of China’s agricultural products in the global value chains.