diff --git a/lib/libfetch/ftp.c b/lib/libfetch/ftp.c
index 59d71908d29e..da4f7ce03471 100644
--- a/lib/libfetch/ftp.c
+++ b/lib/libfetch/ftp.c
@@ -761,6 +761,8 @@ _ftp_connect(struct url *url, struct url *purl, char *flags)
     
     /* send user name and password */
     user = url->user;
+    if (!user || !*user)
+	user = getenv("FTP_LOGIN");
     if (!user || !*user)
 	user = FTP_ANONYMOUS_USER;
     if (purl && url->port == _fetch_default_port(url->scheme))