diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index bcbe9fc10c..b80477f7fc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -168,6 +168,10 @@ export HOSTCC_NOCCACHE HOSTCXX_NOCCACHE
 # Make sure pkg-config doesn't look outside the buildroot tree
 unexport PKG_CONFIG_PATH
 
+# Having DESTDIR set in the environment confuses the installation
+# steps of some packages.
+unexport DESTDIR
+
 # bash prints the name of the directory on 'cd <dir>' if CDPATH is
 # set, so unset it here to not cause problems. Notice that the export
 # line doesn't affect the environment of $(shell ..) calls, so