diff --git a/generator/perl.ml b/generator/perl.ml
index 3a87f1634..d1b4763b8 100644
--- a/generator/perl.ml
+++ b/generator/perl.ml
@@ -664,6 +664,8 @@ and generate_perl_pm () =
   generate_header HashStyle LGPLv2plus;
 
   pr "\
+=encoding utf8
+
 =pod
 
 =head1 NAME