Return our boxes plea from egg farm as they run short
A EUROPEAN shortage of cardboard egg cartons is causing concern for Castel Farm Eggs, which is now asking islanders to return as many as they can to the farm.
Co-owner Emma Brooks explained that the shortage stemmed from the Covid-19 pandemic as workers in factories which make them could not go into work.
‘There’s only two factories in Europe that make these egg cartons,’ she said.
‘And as a result of Covid, there have not been people in the factories to cope with demand.’
Lead time for orders has increased from six weeks to seven months, and egg farmers do not know when next they might be able to place an order at the factories.
At the moment, Castel Farm Eggs has enough cartons to get it through the next few months, but with as many as 14,000 eggs being laid a day, the company needs to be pro-active in sourcing cartons, rather than reactive.
Mrs Brooks was also concerned that there would be a ‘pecking order’, and smaller egg farms, such as the one she and her husband run, would get pushed further down the waiting list so the bigger farms could be dealt with first.
A drop-off point has been installed at Forest Stores, or islanders who have acquired a substantial amount can call the farm on 236231 and someone will collect them.
Another drop-off point is being arranged for the north.
‘We are asking that people are a bit patient so we can collect a whole bunch in one go, rather than popping out several times to collect a few,’ Mrs Brooks said.
‘We have a small team at the farm, but we can also be contacted on our Facebook page for collections.’
A note explaining the shortage and the request from Mr and Mrs Brooks has been put in the Castel Farm egg boxes for the last couple of weeks.
The boxes can be stacked together easily so islanders can collect a lot without taking up too much space.
It is important that it is only the Castel Farm Eggs boxes that are given back, and they must be clean and in good condition to use again, although this will be checked at the farm.
Mrs Brooks thanked milk deliverers who have also offered to collect them from people’s doorsteps and gather a stack before dropping them back at the farm.
