Purpose: This paper aimed to evaluate the competitive potential of the agricultural and food sector in the member states of the European Union and identify differences between them with reference to the position of such countries in international agricultural and food trade. Design/Methodology/Approach: The competitive potential was evaluated using a synthetic measure designed using TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution). The potential was confronted with the competitive position of the member states of the European Union in the international trade in agricultural and food products. To this end, among other indicators, the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index was used. The analysis was based on data from EUROSTAT and FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) for years 2007-2017. Findings: The results point to a strong diversification of the level of agricultural development among the member states of the European Union. Four groups of countries characterised by a similar level of the analysed phenomenon were identified. The highest value of the synthetic measure was characteristic of the Netherlands. It was more than 3 times higher than in the country least competitive in that respect (Slovenia). Countries with the highest agricultural competitive potential such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and France, also maintain a high competitive advantage in the international agricultural and food trade. Many countries, in particular those included in EU-12 (Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland) in the analysed period 2007-2017 significantly improved their competitive position in the agricultural and food trade despite a small increase in the competitive potential of agriculture.