diff --git a/srcpkgs/freetype/template b/srcpkgs/freetype/template
index 4c1af4f78a..07ef6d77ba 100644
--- a/srcpkgs/freetype/template
+++ b/srcpkgs/freetype/template
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@ license="GPL-2"
 distfiles="${SOURCEFORGE_SITE}/$pkgname/$pkgname-$version.tar.bz2"
 checksum=57bce5b37989577aa8b4a588426839f6bf39bcc3869748cb18f6827df251f4e5
 
+if [ "$CROSS_BUILD" ]; then
+	# XXX needs libpng-config
+	hostmakedepends+=" libpng-devel"
+fi
+
 freetype-devel_package() {
 	depends="zlib-devel bzip2-devel freetype>=$version"
 	short_desc+=" - development files"