diff --git a/include/quilt.mk b/include/quilt.mk
index 9309fc94b7..9691dc3276 100644
--- a/include/quilt.mk
+++ b/include/quilt.mk
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ endef
 
 define PatchDir/Default
 	@if [ -d "$(2)" -a "$$$$(ls $(2) | wc -l)" -gt 0 ]; then \
+		export PATCH="$(PATCH)"; \
 		if [ -s "$(2)/series" ]; then \
 			$(call filter_series,$(2)/series) | xargs -n1 \
 				$(KPATCH) "$(1)" "$(2)"; \