Mr Odunsi made the appeal in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abeokuta.

According to Punch, he said that the smuggling of frozen foods into the country was affecting the sales of local poultry products.

"If importation of poultry products into the country is totally stopped, it would help to boost our local production," he said.

Mr Odunsi said that in spite of the ban on such commodities, some of the enforcement agencies still encouraged smugglers at the borders.

"The importation of poultry products from neighbouring countries is a major challenge and a big hindrance to local production.

"This has affected local production, over the years. Nigerians should appreciate the local farmers so that we can also compete effectively with products from other countries.

"These imported products are even more expensive, compared to the local ones," he said.

Mr Odunsi also identified the high cost of feeds as another major challenge in the production of poultry products in the country.

He noted that local farmers could not compete with imported poultry products because of the high cost of poultry feeds.

"Most of the raw materials we use in producing poultry feeds keep increasing regularly and have become very expensive, which is the reason why imported frozen foods are taking over the Nigerian market," he said.

Mr Odunsi urged government to implement policies that could help improve the activities of security agencies at the borders, to effectively control the smuggling of poultry products into the country.