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In perennial crops, such as coffee, the development of a commercial variety requires 20 to 25 years, which is why, the study of the relations between production and phenotypic characteristics facilitates selection processes and generational progress within the genetic improvement program. The correlation between two variables does not necessarily imply a causal relation because its effect may be indirect depending on other variables. Causality can be assessed using path analysis by determining the effects of a correlation. In this study, the relation and effect of some phenotypic characteristics with the production of cherry coffee during the first productive period of the crop was determined. The association between seven phenotypic characteristics and the production of cherry coffee in 18 C. arabica genotypes was evaluated at the Naranjal Experiment Station of Cenicafé (Chinchiná-Caldas, Colombia). The relations were analyzed by genetic correlations, while the direct and indirect effects were determined using path analysis. The results showed that the number of flowers and the leaf area had a direct and high association with the production of cherry coffee per tree, which was corroborated by evaluating the direct effects using path analysis. The height had an inverse and low relation with production, with direct effect. The number of nodes with flowers and the average weight of a cherry had an indirect effect on production. These results validate previous observations and confirm the importance of leaf area as a production component.