diff --git a/public/app/features/dashboard/export/exporter.ts b/public/app/features/dashboard/export/exporter.ts
index 0a0b4cbdaab..d76e782905b 100644
--- a/public/app/features/dashboard/export/exporter.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/dashboard/export/exporter.ts
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ export class DashboardExporter {
         templateizeDatasourceUsage(variable);
         variable.options = [];
         variable.current = {};
-        variable.refresh = 1;
+        variable.refresh = variable.refresh > 0 ? variable.refresh : 1;
       }
     }