diff --git a/infile.go b/infile.go
index 60effdfc2..e6323aea4 100644
--- a/infile.go
+++ b/infile.go
@@ -93,10 +93,12 @@ func deferredClose(err *error, closer io.Closer) {
 	}
 }
 
+const defaultPacketSize = 16 * 1024 // 16KB is small enough for disk readahead and large enough for TCP
+
 func (mc *mysqlConn) handleInFileRequest(name string) (err error) {
 	var rdr io.Reader
 	var data []byte
-	packetSize := 16 * 1024 // 16KB is small enough for disk readahead and large enough for TCP
+	packetSize := defaultPacketSize
 	if mc.maxWriteSize < packetSize {
 		packetSize = mc.maxWriteSize
 	}