Reg Watts - a much appreciated appreciation

Douglas Learmond notes quite rightly how Reg would take pleasure in "a commodity scoop from a hardened general news correspondent".

In September 1972, I filed a story from Peking that China was about to make its first wheat purchases on the world market since the Communists gained power in 1949. I had got the story from a Danish broker who had spent several months of tortuous negotiations with Chinese authorities in competition with the French company Louis Dreyfus.

I filed, in the usual way, by telegram handed in at the post office after a cycle ride from the office - no snap or FAT in those cleft-stick days. Some 24 hours later, I received a cable from GSU with the dreaded words "Naturally, standing by your story, but ..." to be told that Dreyfus - the victor in the negotiations - had flatly denied my story.

Informing my Danish contact of this, he furnished me with many of the details of the Dreyfus contract, given to him by the Chinese to show where his bid had not been as good. Immensely relieved, I was able to send a follow-up greatly substantiating the first break.

In the isolation of China at the time, I had no real idea of the story's impact - although I realised it must have been big when the AFP correspondent gleefully pointed me out in the lobby of the Peking Hotel to the Dreyfus representative, who promptly took a swing at me (which, fortunately, missed).

Arriving in the Washington bureau in mid-1975, Reg - whom I had not met before - raced up to grab my hand and tell me what a great story it had been for Reuters in those early years of breaking into the American markets.

My second story had included details of tonnages to be bought from Australia, Argentina, Canada and an historic 800,000 tons from the US - all of which Dreyfus was scrambling to buy after the Reuters story sent prices soaring.

Reg's very thoughtful analysis made me much more aware of the importance of commodities in real life terms and remained with me throughout further postings. ■