Decree-Law No. 28/2008 on the public supply of essential goods and management of the negative effects of inflation.

This Decree-Law, consisting of 22 articles divided into five Chapters, establishes the public supply of essential goods and management of the negative effects of inflation. In terms of supply and demand, as well as constitutionally enshrined freedom of initiative and business management, it is the Government's essential objective to guarantee the population to obtain essential goods at sustained or subsidized prices. As an effective measure to combat rising prices, intervention in the market is carried out through the release of significant quantities of basic goods, capable of satisfying immediate needs and covering the stocks that families and traders make as a precautionary measure, without prejudice to the use of subsidized prices. It applies to the supply of rice, edible oils, and basic materials for civil construction and public works. In view of the persistent economic rise in fuel prices, it also institutes a transitory measure, aimed at preventing an uncontrolled and distorting price increase in the public passenger transport sector. The State's objective is to support the private sector in order to maintain reasonable prices, balanced between supply and demand, guaranteeing stability in the supply of essential goods.