diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix
index 54fb320caf92..bb524cc30bd0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numcodecs/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 { lib
+, stdenv
 , buildPythonPackage
 , fetchPypi
 , isPy27
@@ -37,6 +38,10 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     msgpack
   ];
 
+  preBuild = if (stdenv.hostPlatform.isx86 && !stdenv.hostPlatform.avx2Support) then ''
+    export DISABLE_NUMCODECS_AVX2=
+  '' else null;
+
   nativeCheckInputs = [
     pytestCheckHook
   ];