Growers are not the only ones concerned about a lower pear crop this year, as SPC Ardmona struggles to fill its quota for the season.

An unusually hot January/February period in 2009 has been blamed for the lower pear production this season.

SPC Ardmona acting managing director Steve Perkins said pears were not the only fruit down on last year.

"The apricots are all done now and we actually got in a few less than we thought we would," Mr Perkins said.

"The fruit we anticipated simply wasn't available."

Mr Perkins said while numbers were down, apricot quality was very good.

"They were a little small at the start, but they have been of generally good quality across the board," he said.

"The texture has been good, but we did see a few split stones - that's probably down to the hotterthan-normal November we had in 2009."

While many growers had feared they would have tonnes of peaches left over after the cannery took its quota, Mr Perkins said less-thanperfect weather conditions meant that probably wouldn't be the case.

"We're probably down 20 per cent on our original estimates of the peach crop, but we should still get the quota," he said.

Once the peaches are finished at SPC, the processing giant will move onto pears, which have come on late and have produced a smaller crop than previous years.

"Pears are a week late, so we don't have much data on them yet, but our estimate for intake is down on last year," Mr Perkins said.

"We believe we're still going to get what we need - but it's going to be tight."

Despite the lower crop size, the cannery boss hinted there might be an upside next season.

"The trees appear to be healthy but they've gone almost semidormant - they're doing their best to look after themselves at the expense of extra fruit," he said.

SPC Ardmona crop supply manager Simon Mills agreed, suggesting next season was already looking good.

"The trees have never looked healthier, you can already see the buds forming for next year," Mr Mills said.

"While we don't have a huge crop now, all the signs are pointing to a better one next season."

Despite less fruit, Mr Mills said there was still about 650 tonne a day being processed in the Shepparton plant, meaning more casual workers were always needed at this time of year.

Mr Perkins said there were more registrations for casual work this year than last year.

"The bulk of our casuals are local - a lot come from farming families in the area and many are tertiary students returning home for the holidays to make a bit of money," he said.

Tomatoes and 140 g fruit snack packs are still processed in Mooroopna, while the Kyabram plant takes care of all IXL jam products.

jordan.oliver@sheppnews.com.au