diff --git a/contrib/suri-graphite b/contrib/suri-graphite
index 7a71ecf2dd..83422e89d5 100755
--- a/contrib/suri-graphite
+++ b/contrib/suri-graphite
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ sc = suricatasc.SuricataSC(args.socket)
 sc.connect()
 
 sck = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
-sck.connect((args.host, args.port))
+sck.connect((args.host, int(args.port)))
 
 while 1:
     res = sc.send_command("dump-counters")