diff --git a/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk b/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk
index 10660a90fb..8f1a64b921 100644
--- a/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk
+++ b/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk
@@ -340,6 +340,7 @@ OPENCV3_CONF_OPTS += \
 	-DPYTHON3_NUMPY_VERSION=$(PYTHON_NUMPY_VERSION)
 OPENCV3_DEPENDENCIES += python3
 endif
+OPENCV3_CONF_ENV += $(PKG_PYTHON_DISTUTILS_ENV)
 OPENCV3_DEPENDENCIES += python-numpy
 else
 OPENCV3_CONF_OPTS += \