diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/lirc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/lirc/default.nix
index b98f5066dae5..8d5a7d9aebd2 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/lirc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/lirc/default.nix
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   preConfigure = ''
     # use empty inc file instead of a from linux kernel generated one
     touch lib/lirc/input_map.inc
+
+    export PKGCONFIG="$PKG_CONFIG"
   '';
 
   strictDeps = true;