In 2008, zimbabwe ran out of locally produced coca cola and local coke bottlers were not able to import the concentrated syrup needed to make coke from the united states because they could not obtain u. s. dollars. a small amount of coke was imported from south africa, but a single bottle sold for around 15 billion zimbabwean dollars. zimbabwe was experiencing rapid increases in the price level, which is known as inflation. deflation. stagflation. hyperinflation.