diff --git a/src/v/kafka/server/handlers/fetch.cc b/src/v/kafka/server/handlers/fetch.cc
index 8e9b8390ab37..22dee67968c0 100644
--- a/src/v/kafka/server/handlers/fetch.cc
+++ b/src/v/kafka/server/handlers/fetch.cc
@@ -340,7 +340,9 @@ static ss::future<read_result> do_read_from_ntp(
           kafka_partition->start_offset(),
           kafka_partition->high_watermark());
     }
-    if (ntp_config.cfg.consumer_rack_id && kafka_partition->is_leader()) {
+    if (
+      config::shard_local_cfg().enable_rack_awareness.value()
+      && ntp_config.cfg.consumer_rack_id && kafka_partition->is_leader()) {
         auto p_info_res = kafka_partition->get_partition_info();
         if (p_info_res.has_error()) {
             // TODO: add mapping here