diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/common.config b/tests/qemu-iotests/common.config
index d07f43569638fbeeda2c9cf7faf444ded0acadd0..a220684b0f9a05d79b4a96333b576db91790304d 100644
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/common.config
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/common.config
@@ -121,6 +121,8 @@ if [ ! -d "$TEST_DIR" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+export TEST_DIR
+
 _readlink()
 {
     if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then