diff --git a/general/external.mk b/general/external.mk
index 540f0e9c..ef120683 100644
--- a/general/external.mk
+++ b/general/external.mk
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 include $(BR2_EXTERNAL_GENERAL_PATH)/linux/linux-ext-vendor-patcher.mk
 include $(sort $(wildcard $(BR2_EXTERNAL_GENERAL_PATH)/package/*/*.mk))
 
-EXTERNAL_VENDOR = $(shell echo $(BR2_DEFCONFIG) | grep -o "br-ext-chip-\w*")
+export EXTERNAL_VENDOR = $(shell echo $(BR2_DEFCONFIG) | grep -o "br-ext-chip-\w*")
 BR2_EXTERNAL_VENDOR_PATH = $(BR2_EXTERNAL_GENERAL_PATH)/../$(EXTERNAL_VENDOR)
 BR2_EXTERNAL_SCRIPTS_PATH = $(BR2_EXTERNAL_GENERAL_PATH)/../scripts