diff --git a/abuild b/abuild
index ec4e76a..89fadbc 100755
--- a/abuild
+++ b/abuild
@@ -502,7 +502,14 @@ deptrace() {
 builddeps() {
 	local deps alldeps pkg i dir ver missing
 	msg "Building dependencies..."
-	deps="$BUILD_BASE $depends $makedepends"
+	deps="$BUILD_BASE $makedepends"
+
+	# add depends unless it is a subpackage
+	for i in $depends; do
+		subpackages_has $i || deps="$deps $i"
+	done
+
+	# find which deps are missing
 	for i in $deps; do
 		if ! apk info -e $i; then
 			if [ -z "$install_deps" ] && [ -z "$recursive" ]; then