This proposal draws on the rise of quality requirements and private standards in developing countries. The literature shows that the impacts of standards are ambiguous. On the one hand, standards are supposed to increase the competitiveness of exporting countries by reducing transaction costs and to enhance consumer confidence (Jaffee and Henson, 2004). On the other hand, standards are increasingly regarded by some as a potential obstacle to trade, as fixed and recurring costs of compliance may undermine long term competitiveness (Reardon and Timmer, 2007). As a consequence, considerable donor attention (e. g. USAID, GTZ, DFID) has been directed at building export capacity, both within the public and private sectors (Humphrey and Navas-Aleman, 2010). This work evaluates the respective role of market forces (private trade actors) and donors in setting incentives for standard adoption. We draw on the example of the litchi chain in Madagascar. The study is based on semi-structured interviews carried out with all stakeholders of the export chain, government agencies and programs supporting litchi production and on weekly data on litchi trade flows (2001-2010).