--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -618,6 +618,7 @@ ocv_cmake_hook(POST_COMPILER_OPTIONS)
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 #       CHECK FOR SYSTEM LIBRARIES, OPTIONS, ETC..
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
 if(UNIX)
   if(NOT APPLE_FRAMEWORK OR OPENCV_ENABLE_PKG_CONFIG)
     if(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING AND NOT DEFINED ENV{PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR} AND NOT DEFINED ENV{PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR}