Commodity Sales vs Commodity Trading at BB

Hi Guys,

I've been reading around a bunch about this question but can't find a clear awnser on this one. I've heard Commodity sales in BB is slightly diff from say FX sales in that you'll do a broader range of activities and often work together with the IBD? How does this then relate to commodity trading role? I'm mostly interested in the agricultural side of the commodity business btw.

Just to structure things;

(1) Whats the difference between a commodity sales analyst position and commodity trading analyst position at say GS/MS. (type of work, team, hours, ...) and could you give an example of a deal or job that the commodity division works on together and define who does what? (Let's say a giant trade or acquisition of a mill for a corporate client. Sales team does the pitching and communication, traders do the (custom) hedging and structuring? )

(2) What after the analyst role? + possible exit options? I know paths in S&T are less lined out than in IBD but would it for instance be able to move to physical agri trading quite easily after? (given that I work on my knowledge of the pyschical markets and operations)

(3) Afterthe whole sack-the-commodity-banks policy package; which banks are in your opinion the best to go to for such a role? I know JP Morgan has sold stuff to Mercuria, there was talk of MS selling their book to Rosneft,...(although they still have a specific commodity analyst graduate program.. any good?). I know Goldman and Citi are hesitating to get out or even acquiring more firepower in this sector (?) and then you have the good-old more commodity oriented banks such as StanChart, Rabobank and Macquarie. In Short: I know the culture and how you feel with the people at the desk is important but what banks are interesting to chase if you're after a commodity role and which ones do you want to avoid?

Thanks a lot.