diff --git a/package/Makefile.in b/package/Makefile.in
index 70529f8a5b..803b162a74 100644
--- a/package/Makefile.in
+++ b/package/Makefile.in
@@ -326,7 +326,8 @@ HOST_MAKE_ENV = \
 EXTRA_ENV = \
 	PATH=$(BR_PATH) \
 	BR2_DL_DIR=$(BR2_DL_DIR) \
-	BUILD_DIR=$(BUILD_DIR)
+	BUILD_DIR=$(BUILD_DIR) \
+	BR2_EXTERNAL=$(BR2_EXTERNAL)
 
 ################################################################################
 # settings we need to pass to configure