The government this week promised to ramp up its growth agenda for the industry but warned its new approach would come without significant new funding.

David Cameron and new ministers from Defra and BIS held talks at Downing Street on Tuesday with 16 CEOs, from retailers and suppliers including Tesco, PepsiCo and Booker, about how to tackle youth unemployment and to support an IGD scheme to provide job training for up to 10,000 young people.

The talks also covered potential policies to boost exports, improve training and slash red tape.

New environment minister David Heath said Defra planned to work more closely with the industry following last week’s reshuffle.

“The food and drink industry is a very significant driver of economic growth and it hasn’t had a big enough profile,” he said. “Money is limited, but the very distinct flavour you will see from myself and the secretary of state [environment secretary Owen Paterson] is an absolute concentration on how we can contribute to the growth of UK plc.”

Asda CEO Andy Clarke, who attended the briefing, said the talks could herald the start of a closer relationship with the government. “This was a real first,” he said. “I feel very positive about it and I think it does signal the start of more constructive dialogue.”

Greencore CEO Patrick Coveney added: “It’s a really public endorsement of the food and drink industry. There are things the government can do to help boost exports and we also had a good discussion about apprentice schemes. But it’s more significant that there are now talks at the highest level.”

Next week, grocery companies will provide free skills training at more than 700 locations across the UK as part of a tie-up between IGD and Jobcentre Plus.

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